CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK…..CLICK TEACHING DAD TO BE SQUARE BELOW THE LIKE BUTTON TO CATCH UP.

The best thing about memories…is making them.

And what could be more memorable
than teaching my eighty-something father
to use a Square credit card reader
on a smartphone?

Imagine the possibilities.

Possibility #1:

“Andra, I was trying to go through everything you showed me on Linda’s smartphone, but I dropped it in the toilet before I could remember how to turn the dang thing on.”

Possibility #2:

“Andra, I accidentally charged some guy ten thousand dollars for one of your books. I told him your writing really was that good, but he wasn’t convinced. Can you come and bail me out of jail?”

Possibility #3:

“I didn’t realize that smartphone had a camera. I don’t know how them naked photos of me and your mother wound up on the internet.”

*SHUDDER*

I couldn’t unleash the Dad-and-smartphone combo onto an unsuspecting world. NOBODY deserved memories they’d have to scrub from their brain.

I came up with a different plan, borne of memories from my childhood.

Dad used to carry a spiral-bound notepad everywhere he went. He scribbled contacts and phone numbers on every page, information he used to keep his plant stocked with wood. By the time he filled a notebook, the cover was gone and the corners were frayed from use.

The man knew how to use a notebook.

So I bought my father a present: a pack of spiral-bound notepads, only I made one alteration. On each page, I wrote out the information he’d need to get from each customer. I would process the sales from the information he obtained.

Not a foolproof plan, certainly, but one that might bring him success most of the time AND keep naked images of my parents OFF THE INTERNET.

Don’t leave a good time to chance. Experiences have to be woven with care and planning, like a tapestry. ~ Jim Rohn

The most frequent question I get at events?

How’s your dad?

Dad is a book-selling machine. I can no longer accuse him of having a recliner-tail or waiting to die. He gets up every day and accosts, I mean, persuades more people to buy my books….especially the Dad Book, his preferred name for Not Without My Father.

His only problem? He can’t take credit cards.

But I had a plan. I called Mom to prepare her.

“I ordered Dad a Square credit card reader.”

“A what?”

“A credit card thing he can attach to a smartphone.”

Dad lumbered into view, his pajama top splayed open. “What’s a smartphone, huh?”

“See what I mean, Andra? Your daddy is hopeless with technology.”

I eyed Mom, a woman-of-a-certain-age who prides herself on her FaceTime savvy, her understanding of apps, and her hip usage of Emoji.

“Does your smartphone have BlueTooth?”

“Yes.”

(See, I didn’t even have to explain what BlueTooth is!)

“You can use the Square.”

“But I’m not with him when he’s selling.”

“Here’s your excuse to spend more quality time together.”

“Do you want us to stay married?”

I chewed my lip and relived every Mom-helping-Dad argument they ever had when I was growing up.

“I’m trying to get it in the hole, Linda. You’re not holding it in the right spot.”

“I put it right where you told me to.”

“No, I said here.” Dad grunted and strained. “Golly Molly, Linda. You still can’t get it right.”

“Fine. You hold your own flashlight and try to drill holes at the same time.”

I rubbed my hands over my face and sighed. I wanted to help Dad close more sales, but not at the expense of our fragile family sanity.

What could I do?

I decided to make this a good experience. I’m smart. I could divine a foolproof plan, right?

Facebook is at it again. They’ve changed their platform in a major way. This time, I THINK IT’S A GOOD THING.

For the past 18 months or so, Facebook’s algorithm has decided what you see in your newsfeed for both personal profiles and pages. In the past couple of weeks, they’ve changed the system.

You can now control what you see on Facebook.
EVERYTHING you see on Facebook.

Aren’t happy that you weren’t seeing your favorite pages without interacting all the time? You can now tell Facebook you want to see those pages, and they’ll actually show them to you.

Wonder why you never see anyone you care about in your newsfeed? You can now tell Facebook you want to see those people first, and they’ll actually show them first in your newsfeed.

Here’s how to do it:

FOR PERSONAL PROFILES:

1. Go to the personal profile you want to see.
2. Scroll to the “Following” tab (which is shown as “See First” in the screen shot below.)
3. Toggle the profile to See First.
4. You’re done. Facebook will show you the selected profiles at the top of your newsfeed.

FOR FACEBOOK PAGES:

1. Go to the Facebook Page you want to see. (Here’s a direct link to mine: https://www.facebook.com/andrawatkinsauthor)
2. Scroll to the “Like” tab
3. Toggle the page to See First.
4. You’re done. Facebook will show you the selected pages at the top of your newsfeed.

5. PLEASE MAKE MY PAGE ONE YOU WANT TO SEE FIRST. What’s in it for you? I’m doing some special giveaways to Facebook commenters in the coming months. I want everyone here to have an opportunity to win swag.

If you learned something today that will help you better connect with the people you care about, I hope you’ll share it with them. I installed a very visible share bar on the lefthand side of my site. You can click any block to share these instructions with anyone in your life, and help them see you in a more meaningful way.